Spiral lowering chute



Patented Jan. 8, 1924.

UNITED;

itans parent was FRANK AND FBANK FAQ-DEE, 31%., (3F HAZLE'ION, PENNSYLVANIA.

SPIRAL L OWERING CHU'TE.

Application filed April 28, 1922.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that We, FRANK PARDEE- and FRANK PARDEE, Jr, citizens of the United States, and residents of Hazleton, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spiral Lowering Chutes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates; to spiral chutes adapted for conveying material from a higher to a lower level, the chute illustrated being particularly adapted for piling coal in storage yards or the like, although of course it is not limited to that'use. v

Chutes of this character heretofore constructed have been supported by means of skeleton frame work consisting of a number of uprights arranged on the exterior of the conveyor thread and the uprights, have usually been braced by means of trusses eX-v te nding transversely from one uprightto another, and: cross-bracing has usually been used to stiffen the skeleton structure against lateral deflection. In other types the "con; veyor has been'supportedby means of an axial post having radially extending rods to which the floor or runway of the conveyor was secured.

The. present invention aims to. provide a lowering chute supported on a skeleton frame comprising a plurality of'outer uprights which are braced to one another bymeans of an outer flange formed of material sufiiciently heavy topreventlateral displacement of the uprights, and said flange is also adapted to support the runway or flooring of the conveyor. This arrangement simplifies the construction of these conveyors and eliminates the numerous transverse members usually employed'to. support the runway and also eliminates the. cross-bracing heretofore used for tying the uprights to one another.

It is of considerable advantage particularly in chutes used for stacking coal to provide a supporting structure in which there are no transversely extending members from one upright to another as the material leaving the runway of such conveyors is apt to.

strike such brace members and be broken thereby. These chutes are used extensively for piling coal, and as is well known, it is desirable to pile the coal in such a way that there is very little breakage because the small pieces broken form dust or fines which are unsalable.

The invention is illustrated in the ac- Serial No. 557,063.

companying a front elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section of a portion shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevation on the same scale as Fig; 2, clearly showing details of construction; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section of Fig; 3;; i i c Fig. 5 is a detail showing one convolution ofthe spiral bracing'fiange Figs. 6 7 and 8 are views illustrating details of construction;

Fig. 9, is a view diagrammatically illustrating a conveyor in use.

A The" skeleton framework for supporting the conveyor comprises a plurality of uprights-10. which are tied to one another by suitable cross-members .12 and 14 at the top and secured at the bottom by means of angle brackets 16 and 18 to a base 20;. The uprights 10 are secured to one another and rigidly braced by a series of spiral members 22 which form a continuous flange trom the top to; the bottom of the conveyor. The members 22 are-conveniently made in sections of one turn or convolution each, as

drawings in which Fig. l is on line i 4 shown in Fig. 5, and at their abutting edges theyare spliced; together bfv means of connecting plates 24 which. are secured by rivets 26, or other'suitable means, to the adjacent ends e f-said members 22. The spiral: flange 22 is riveted directly to the uprights 10, as indicated at 30 in Fig.8. As thus constructed it will be seen that the series of heavy members 22 provide staunch chords for rigidly tying, the uprights to one another. VVit-h this arrangement it is unnecessary to utilize cross-braces, tie rods ortrellis work of any kind between the uprights in order topreventtheir lateral deflection or to prevent the. collapse of the skeleton frame. i

In addition the series oi spiral. members 22' being. otfi heavy construction provide convenient means for supporting-the spiral runway or flooring 32; For supporting this runway, brackets 34.are secured by rivets 36 to the. spiral; flange; said: brackets extending inwardly as-at 38wand; being; secured; by rivets 4:0 to the runway 32. The brackets 34 are located at points intermediate the uprights..10. At points adjacent the uprights the runway is supported by means of brackets 42 secured by rivets 41 to Said uprights and by suitable rivets 46 to the runway. The runway flooring 32 is formed with an outer upturned rim 31 which abuts the flange 22 to form a close fit. This runway may be made in sections of one turn each overlapping one another at their abutting edges, or it may be made of a plurality of segmental sections or jackets which construction is well known in this art and,

J therefore, need not be specifically describedand illustrated, this invention relating particularly to the skeleton frame or supporting structure for the runway.

At the upper end of the skeleton frame an inclined feed chute 48 is secured to the uprights in any suitable manner, which chute is adapted to deliver the coal or other material to the first convolution of the runway as shown in Fig. 1. The conveyor herein shown is suitable for many various kinds of material but is particularly adapted for stacking coal in storage piles as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 9. The coal to be stacked is fed from the inclined chute 48 to the runway 32 on which it travels until it reaches the bottom of said runway where it falls to the ground. As the coal or other material is continuously fed it falls off the inner edge 33 0f therunway and discharges the material at a constantlyincreasing elevation due to the spiral formation of the run- \\'a' In other words the apex of the coal pile may be said to grow or travel from the bottom up and the coal is discharged with sort of a circular motion. It will be appreciated that when the coal is discharged in this way, the existence of crossbraces, tie rods or the like from one upright to another would tend to prevent the smooth or continuous discharge of the coal from the runway, and would choke the conveyor and also cause breakage of the coal at points where such obstructions are present.

The improved supporting structure herein described eliminates all'such cross-braces and provides a device which will uniformly and neatly pile the coal or other material handled. The structure is lighter in weight than similar structures heretofore used, is more easily and cheaply manufactured and assembled than former structures, yet it is amply strong for the service intended and performs its function better than such former structures.

Though we have described with great par-- ticularity the details of the embodiment of the invention illustrated it is not to be construed that we are limited thereto as changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

\Vhat We claim is 1. A skeleton frame for supporting a spiral runway comprising a plurality of uprights and a spiral flange secured to and forming the sole bracing for said uprights.

2. A skeleton frame for supporting a spiral runway comprising a plurality of outer uprights and a series of members forming a continuous spiral brace secured there-- to, said uprights being spaced suiiiciently far apart to permit the unobstructed flow of lumps of material therebetween.

8. A spiral chute comprising a phurality of uprights, a spiral flange secured to said uprights for the purpose of tying and bracing them to one another and a spiral runway supported solely by brackets secured to said flange and said uprights.

4. A spiral chute for piling material con1- nrisin a skeleton frame includina iii-- g g rality of outer uprights a series of members forming a continuous spiral flange which constitutes the sole brace for said uprights throughout their length, brackets secured to said flange and a spiral runway secured to said brackets adapted to dis charge material and pile it around. the uprights.

5. A spiral chute comprising a plularity of outer rolled steel uprights, a series of members forming a continuous spiral flange adapted to hold said uprights in spaced relation and a spiral runway supported solely by brackets secured to said flange and said uprights, said runway bein adapted to discharge and pile material around said uprights.

6. A spiral lowering chute comprising a spiral runway of comparatively thin metal, lightweight angular metallic uprights, a thick metallic spiral bracing flange secured to and holding said uprights in spaced re lation and means carried by said flange for supporting said runway.

7 A spiral lowering chute comprising a spiral runway of comparatively thin metal. light steel angular uprights, a series of thick heavy spiral bars of substantially one turn each secured to one another to form a continuous flange to brace said uprights a runway of thin light metal, and short brackets suspended from said spiral bars to support the runway at points between the uprights.

In witness whereof, we have hereunto signed our names.

FRANK PARDEE. FRANK PARDEE. JR. 

